28 Jan: Phuket to Chiang Mai
We left our little chalet under the snow at the foot of the Jura
M
ountains exactly 4 weeks ago! Time
has flown by since
then,
yet
looking back
we've
already
squashed a
lot
in.
This morning we flew from Phuket to Bangkok, our 4th passage
through
the
capital's
airport.
We
took a
taxi
meter from
the airport
to the main
train
station,
where we left
our
bags
in the left
luggage in
order
to
spend the
afternoon
visiting
Bangkok. We
started
off
with
Wat
Traimit,
a
temple dating
back
to the 13th
century
boasting an
impressive 3
metre
tall
gold
B
uddha.
Unfortunately
for
us, a spanking new
temple style exhibition
building to house the
gold Buddha is
still
being
finalised on
the
same
site in honour of
the King's 80th
birthday at the end
of 2008. The 2nd
floor
where the
gold B
uddha
has been
moved is
not
yet open to
the
public,
so we didn't
get
to
see
the 5.5 tonnes of
gleaming gold... The
second floor houses
an
exhibition on the B
uddha's history, how it
was made and how it
was
"discovered" (in
1955 when it was dropped
from a crane
and
the
plaster exterior
chipped
off the stucco B
uddha
image).
Next
a stroll through the narrow and very
busy streets of China Town
filled with street
vendors selling
everything from dried
fish and
mushrooms
to
plastic
containers,
pyjamas
and
pencils.
The
fishy
smell
in certain
areas
was quite
potent - the locals
laughed at the girls
holding their noses and
pulling funny faces.
We
ate in a small
crowded
café
called Hong
Kong Noodles
to
eat,
staying
well clear
of the
fish
heads and strange
looking
concoctions on
the
streets! We
then
continued our
stroll
down to the
river
and
stopped
off
for a
break
on a
lovely
terrace over
the
river,
where the
kids
did
their
homework.
A
tuk-tuk took us back to the station where
we
boarded
the
train
at
19:00.
The "1st"
class
compartment
is
definitely not
up
to
European
hygiene
standards,
after
10 minutes we
stopped
a
cockroach
which
made
Gaelle
hysterical
and
then
a second one dared
to show its face
and
was
promptly stamped
on. The staff
on
the train
laughed
with amusement
at our
horror!
Obviously
the
creatures
must
be regular guests
on the
train! We
therefore proceeded to
draw
anti-cockroach
chalk
circles
around the
beds,
sinks, bins, etc
in
our
compartments
(thank
you
Lavanya!) and
didn't see another
one for
the rest
of the
journey.
We
managed to get some cortisone cream in a
Pharmacy
(thanks
Pierrot
for
your
advice!) and
coated all of the
girly
mosquito bites
with it
before
bedtime.
Sophie in
particular
has
over 5
0
bites
which
have
swollen
up
nastily...
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Hong Kong Noodles cafe
in China Town |
A cafe terrace
on the riverside in Bangkok |
The 1st class
compartment in the train |
29 Jan: Chiang Mai
The train arrived in Chiang Mai, over an hour late at almost
11:00 in the morning. A taxi service promptly
took us to the
guesthouse we'd reserved
from France. It's a lovely traditional
teak
house built
in 1927,
with a small
scenic
garden and
pool. On the
ground
floor there's
the
reception, bar
and restaurant area
and
there are 3
bedrooms
with a
shared
bathroom
on
the 1st floor. We
have
2
of
these
bedrooms
which are
nicely
decorated
with
traditional Thai
costumes and have a
connecting door (great
with the
kids!).
There
are also
several
bungalows in the
grounds.
We started walking towards the old part of the city to
visit the major city
temples in the
afternoon. We
stopped
off at a laundry
on the
way
to get
our bag of
washing
done
and
then
along
the
river at
"Riverside Bar"
for a
late lunch.
From
there a
tuk-tuk took us to
the
first
temple, Wat
Chiang
Man,
thought to be the
oldest
in the
city. Then
a
short walk
to Wat
Phan Toa
(a
lovely
teak
temple)
and its
more
important
neighbour, Wat
Chedi
Luang and
finally
Wat
Pra Singh. A funeral
ceremony for a monk
aged 97 had just
taken place at the last
temple. Over 500 monks
had come to pay their
respects and lots
of the
monks former
students had made
the
journey from as
far away as
Bangkok.
There's only francophone's staying at the guesthouse and tonight
they'd organised an aperitif with French
wines,
cheese,
pâté, etc. We
were delighted to join
them for a drink. We
hadn't had a glass of
wine in over 4
weeks
!!!
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| Wat
Phan Toa
|
Wat
Pra Singh Chadi |
Wat
Pra Singh temple complex |
30 Jan: Elephant park and Safari trip
Today we went on an organised day trip to the elephant park north
of Chiang Mai.
We were
able
to
walk
amongst,
stroke and
even mount
the
elephants,
including
baby elephants before the
elephant
show.
The
elephants
did
tricks such
as walking on three then
two
legs, playing
musical
instruments, kicking
a
ball, scoring a
basket with
a basket
ball
and
the highlight,
painting
a
picture of
flowers in
a
vase with a
paintbrush.
Oh yes,
and
François was
massaged by an
elephant! It
was
impressive
how well
trained the
animals
were. Then we
went on an
elephant ride
across the
river
and in
the
forest
for about
an
hour; a
bumpy
ride which
the kids
really enjoyed!
François
and Sophie were on
one
elephant and
Jenny
and
Gaelle
on
another. Next
a trip down the river
on a raft made of
bamboo
before a
ride on
a
cart pulled by
2 oxen to
a nearby resort for
lunch. Afterwards, we
went to Tiger Kingdom,
where Gaelle went
in a
cage with and
stroked 3-month
old
tigers. She was very
eager to go in,
but not very
reassured
once
in! Jenny
bravely
visited the
large
9 month old tigers.
Impressive beasts! It's
quite an experience to
stroke them and watch
them circle around
you;
you feel quite
small
and helpless in
comparison! Then a last
stop
off at an orchid
farm
before returning
to the
hotel for a well
earned
rest by
the pool. An action packed
day!
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| Sophie on a
baby elephant |
Gaelle on a
baby elephant with the rest of the
family |
François
taking an alternative approach! |
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| Elephant
painting ! |
Gaelle and
Jenny on an elephant trek |
Sophie and
François on an elephant trek |
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| Bamboo rafting
down the river |
A ride an an
ox cart |
Gaelle
cuddling a tiger |
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| Jenny in the
big tiger cages |
The orchid
farm |
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